Methods and devices for controlling unmanned aerial vehicle

ABSTRACT

Methods and devices are provided for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle. The method includes: obtaining meteorological data in a current location of the UAV when the UAV is in a first flight state, where the first flight state may represent a steady flight state or a take-off preparing state of the UAV; determining a flight hazard level of the UAV based on the meteorological data, where the flight hazard level may represent a hazard level caused to a flight of the UAV by weather; and controlling the UAV to switch to a second flight state when the flight hazard level is a first preset level, where the first preset level may represent a level where the UAV cannot fly safely and the second flight state being used to represent an emergency flight state or a take-off suspended state of the UAV.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based on and claims priority to Chinese PatentApplication No. 201610348845.9, filed on May 24, 2016, the entirecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a technical field of flight vehicles,and more particularly, to methods and devices for controlling anunmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

BACKGROUND

An unmanned aerial vehicle, called a drone for short, is an aircraftwithout a human pilot aboard and operated by a radio remote controldevice and its own program control unit, and is widely used in fields ofscientific exploration and hazard monitoring.

In the related art, if a flight path of the drone has been set before itexecutes a flight mission, the drone cannot return timely in case ofemergency (for example, encountering dangerous weather) during theflight, and can only return or emergency-land under manual operations,which increases emergency response time of the drone; moreover, if thedrone fails to return or land, the dangerous weather may cause physicaldamage to the drone.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method and device forcontrolling an unmanned aerial vehicle, to solve the defects in therelated art.

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provideda method for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle. The methodincludes: obtaining meteorological data in a current location of the UAVwhen the UAV is in a first flight state, where the first flight statemay represent a steady flight state or a take-off preparing state of theUAV; determining a flight hazard level of the UAV based on themeteorological data obtained, where the flight hazard level mayrepresent a hazard level caused to a flight of the UAV by weather; andcontrolling the UAV to switch to a second flight state when the flighthazard level is a first preset level, where the first preset level mayrepresent a level where the UAV cannot fly safely and the second flightstate may represent an emergency flight state or a take-off suspendedstate of the UAV.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there isprovided a device for controlling a UAV. The device may include: anobtaining module configured to obtain meteorological data in a currentlocation of the UAV when the UAV is in a first flight state, where thefirst flight state may represent a steady flight state or a take-offpreparing state of the UAV; a determining module configured to determinea flight hazard level of the UAV based on the meteorological dataobtained by the obtaining module, where the flight hazard level mayrepresent a hazard level caused to a flight of the UAV by weather; and aswitching module configured to control the UAV to switch to a secondflight state when the determining module determines the flight hazardlevel as a first preset level, where the first preset level mayrepresent a level where the UAV cannot fly safely and the second flightstate may represent an emergency flight state or a take-off suspendedstate of the UAV.

According to a third aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure,there is provided a device for controlling a UAV. The device includes: aprocessor, and a memory configured to store an instruction executable bythe processor, where the processor is configured to: obtainmeteorological data in a current location of the UAV when the UAV is ina first flight state, where the first flight state may represent asteady flight state or a take-off preparing state of the UAV; determinea flight hazard level of the UAV based on the meteorological dataobtained, where the flight hazard level may represent a hazard levelcaused to a flight of the UAV by weather; and control the UAV to switchto a second flight state when the flight hazard level is a first presetlevel, where the first preset level may represent a level where the UAVcannot fly safely and the second flight state may represent an emergencyflight state or a take-off suspended state of the UAV.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory onlyand are not restrictive of the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with thepresent disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explainthe principles of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1A is a flow chart of a method for controlling an unmanned aerialvehicle according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 1B illustrates a scenario for implementing a method for controllingan unmanned aerial vehicle according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 1C illustrates a scenario for implementing a method for controllingan unmanned aerial vehicle according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method for controlling an unmanned aerialvehicle according to one or more embodiments;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method for controlling an unmanned aerialvehicle according to one or more embodiments;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a device for controlling an unmanned aerialvehicle according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of another device for controlling an unmannedaerial vehicle according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of still another device for controlling anunmanned aerial vehicle according to an example embodiment; and

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a device suitable for controlling anunmanned aerial vehicle according to an example embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments, examplesof which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The followingdescription refers to the accompanying drawings, where the same numbersin different drawings represent the same or similar elements unlessotherwise represented. The implementations set forth in the followingdescription of exemplary embodiments do not represent allimplementations consistent with the disclosure. Instead, they are merelyexamples of apparatuses and methods consistent with aspects related tothe disclosure as recited in the appended claims.

FIG. 1A is a flow chart of a method for controlling an unmanned aerialvehicle according to an example embodiment; FIG. 1B illustrates ascenario for implementing a method for controlling an unmanned aerialvehicle according to an example embodiment; FIG. 1C illustrates ascenario for implementing a method for controlling an unmanned aerialvehicle according to an example embodiment. The method may be applied tothe unmanned aerial vehicle, and as shown in FIG. 1A, the methodincludes the following steps.

In step 101, meteorological data in a current location of the UAV isobtained when the UAV is in a first flight state.

In this disclosure, the first flight state may represent a steady flightstate or a take-off preparing state of the UAV. Here, the steady flightstate or the take-off preparing state of the UAV may represent a state,in which the UAV flies according to a predetermined flight mission plan.

In one or more embodiments, the UAV may obtain the meteorological databy accessing one or more online database. The meteorological data mayinclude temperature, air pressure, relative humidity, water vaporpressure, wind power, rainfall, visibility and sandstorms or the like.Alternatively or additionally, the UAV may analyze real time pictures toobtain local meteorological data. For example, the UAV may analyze thepictures to obtain the visibility and sandstorms. The UAV may also useone or more sensors to detect the meteorological data in the local area.The one or more sensors may include at least one of the following: atemperature sensor, a pressure sensor, a humidity sensor, a motionsensor, a vision sensor, etc.

Further, the meteorological data may include local meteorological dataand meteorological data on the planned trip in the flight mission plan.When there are multiple UAVs flying in a region, the UAVs maycommunicate with each other to inform about the local meteorologicaldata of each UAV. The UAVs may either communicate directly orcommunicate via a remote server so that the UAVs can share themeteorological data with each other.

In step 102, a flight hazard level of the UAV is determined based on themeteorological data obtained.

In this disclosure, the flight hazard level may represent a hazard levelcaused to a flight of the UAV by weather. The UAV may preset a pluralityof hazard levels caused to the flight of the UAV by different weatherconditions.

In one or more embodiments, the UAV may compute a meteorological hazardindex based on the meteorological data obtained, and determine theflight hazard level based on the meteorological hazard index. Forexample, the UAV may determine the meteorological hazard index based onthe strength of the wind power, where the stronger the wind power is,the greater the corresponding meteorological hazard index is. The UAVmay determine the visibility based on the density of PM 2.5, where alower the visibility generally corresponds to a greater meteorologicalhazard index. The UAV may further determine the meteorological hazardindex based on the amount of the rainfall, where the lager the rainfallis, the greater the corresponding meteorological hazard index is.

In one or more embodiments, to the UAV may compute the meteorologicalhazard index by taking various items of meteorological data intoconsideration. For example, the hazard index for each item of data mayhave a preset number (N) of grades, where the preset number N may be anumber greater or equal than 1. When the preset number N is 10, thehazard index for each item of data has ten grades from 0 to 9; thehazard index for each item of data may be computed first, and a sumvalue of all the hazard indexes is computed to obtain the meteorologicalhazard index. For example, when the temperature is 20 degrees belowzero, the hazard index corresponding to the temperature is 9; when thewind scale is 7, the hazard index corresponding to the wind power is 8;when the visibility is 1000 meters, the hazard index corresponding tothe visibility is 8; other corresponding hazard indexes may be computedbased on the rainfall and the sandstorms; finally the meteorologicalhazard index corresponding to the meteorological data is obtained.

In this disclosure, the flight hazard level corresponding to themeteorological hazard index may be determined by inquiring into a presetlist.

Additionally or alternatively, the UAV may determine the flight hazardlevel by judging or determining whether the meteorological hazard indexis greater than a first preset threshold, which realizes flexibledetermination of the flight hazard level.

In an embodiment, the flight hazard level may be divided into twolevels, namely a level suitable for flight and a level unsuitable forflight. In another embodiment, the flight hazard level may be divided inother manners, which will not be limited in the present disclosure. Theflight hazard level may include additional levels if needed.

In step 103, the UAV is controlled to switch to a second flight statewhen the flight hazard level is a first preset level.

In an embodiment, the first preset level may represent a level where theUAV cannot fly safely.

In an embodiment, when the first flight state is the steady flightstate, the second flight state may represent an emergency flight stateof the UAV; in another embodiment, when the first flight state is thetake-off preparing state, the second flight state may represent atake-off suspended state of the UAV.

In an example scenario, as shown in FIG. 1B, a UAV 110 may obtain themeteorological data according to a certain frequency during the steadyflight. When the meteorological data is needed, a current location ofthe UAV 110 may be located via GPS, and then the meteorological data inthe current location is obtained by accessing a network server 120. TheUAV may compute the meteorological hazard index based on themeteorological data, and determine the flight hazard level based on themeteorological hazard index. When the flight hazard level is determinedas the first preset level, the UAV is controlled to switch flightstates. For example, the UAV may switch from an active flight state, inwhich the UAV flies according to the flight mission plan, to a returnflight state, an emergency-landing state, or the take-off suspendedstate.

In an example scenario, as shown in FIG. 1C, the UAV 110 may receive themeteorological data sent by a user terminal 130 during the steadyflight. The UAV 110 may compute the meteorological hazard index based onthe meteorological data, and determine the flight hazard level based onthe meteorological hazard index. When the flight hazard level isdetermined as the first preset level, the UAV is controlled to switchflight states. For example, the UAV may switch from the active flightstate, in which the UAV flies according to the flight mission plan to areturn flight state, an emergency-landing state, or the take-offsuspended state.

In one or more embodiments, during the steady flight, the UAV may obtainthe current meteorological data, such as wind power, temperature, airpressure, thunderstorms and severe convection weather, and determine thecurrent flight hazard level of the UAV based on the meteorological data;when the flight hazard level is the first preset level, the UAV iscontrolled to switch to the second flight state, such as a return flightstate or an emergency-landing state. Since the UAV in the presentdisclosure may obtain real-time meteorological data automatically anddeal with emergencies, thereby avoiding physical damages caused bydangerous weather. Moreover, the UAV has an increased degree ofautonomous control to some extent because it does not need manualoperations.

In one or more embodiments, the step of determining the flight hazardlevel of the UAV based on the meteorological data obtained may include:computing a meteorological hazard index in the current location of theUAV based on the meteorological data; and determining the flight hazardlevel corresponding to the meteorological hazard index by inquiring intoa preset list, where the preset list may record the flight hazard leveland the meteorological hazard index corresponding to the flight hazardlevel.

Here, the step of determining the flight hazard level of the UAV basedon the meteorological data obtained may include: computing ameteorological hazard index in the current location of the UAV based onthe meteorological data; judging or determining whether themeteorological hazard index is greater than a first preset threshold;determining the flight hazard level as the first preset level when themeteorological hazard index is greater than the first preset threshold;and determining the flight hazard level as a second preset level whenthe meteorological hazard index is smaller than or equal to the firstpreset threshold.

In one or more embodiments, the method may further include: controllingthe UAV to work in the first flight state when the flight hazard levelis determined as the second preset level, where the second preset levelmay represent a level where the UAV can fly safely.

In an embodiment, the step of obtaining the meteorological data in thecurrent location of the UAV may include: locating the current locationof the UAV via a GPS; and accessing a network server to obtain themeteorological data in the current location and within a predeterminedsurrounding area.

In an embodiment, the step of obtaining the meteorological data in thecurrent location of the UAV may include: receiving a meteorologicalindication message sent by a user terminal; and analyzing themeteorological indication message to obtain the meteorological data inthe current location of the UAV.

In an embodiment, the step of controlling the UAV to switch to thesecond flight state may include: determining a target location when theUAV works in the second flight state; determining a flight path of theUAV based on the current location and the target location; andcontrolling the UAV to fly according to the flight path.

In the following, technical solutions of the present disclosure will beillustrated in specific embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method for controlling an unmanned aerialvehicle according to one or more embodiments. This embodiment employsthe above method of the present disclosure, and exemplifies, incombination with FIG. 1B, that the UAV switches its flight state basedon the weather condition in the current location. As shown in FIG. 2,the method may include at least the following steps.

In step 201, meteorological data in a current location of the UAV isobtained when the UAV is in a first flight state.

In an embodiment, the first flight state may represent a steady flightstate or a take-off preparing state of the UAV.

In an embodiment, the meteorological data in the current location of theUAV may be obtained in the following two ways.

First way: the current location of the UAV is located via GPS; and thenetwork server is accessed to obtain the meteorological data in thecurrent location and within the predetermined surrounding area.

As shown in FIG. 1B, the UAV 110 may obtain the meteorological dataaccording to a certain frequency during the steady flight; when themeteorological data is needed, the current location of the UAV 110 maybe located via GPS, and then the meteorological data in the currentlocation is obtained by accessing the network server 120.

In an embodiment, the predetermined surrounding area may refer to arange extending from the current location of the UAV by a predetermineddistance in a flight direction. The predetermined distance may be presetby a user. For example, the predetermined distance may be preset between0.5 Km and 100 Km, and preferably between 2 km and 50 km, or morepreferably between 5 km and 10 km. Here, the lower limit and upper limitmay also be adjusted by the user using the user terminal.

Second way: the meteorological indication message sent by the userterminal is received; and the meteorological indication message isanalyzed to obtain the meteorological data in the current location ofthe UAV.

As shown in FIG. 1C, the UAV 110 may receive the meteorologicalindication message sent by the user terminal 130 during the steadyflight, and analyze the meteorological indication message to obtain themeteorological data in the current location of the UAV.

In step 202, the meteorological hazard index in the current location ofthe UAV is computed based on the meteorological data.

Detailed description of step 202 may refer to description of step 102 inthe embodiment of FIG. 1A, which will not be elaborated.

In step 203, the flight hazard level of the UAV is determined based onthe meteorological hazard index.

In an embodiment, the flight hazard level may represent the hazard levelcaused to a flight of the UAV by weather.

In an embodiment, the flight hazard level corresponding to themeteorological hazard index may be determined by inquiring into thepreset list.

In an embodiment, the preset list may record the plurality of flighthazard levels and the meteorological hazard indices corresponding to theplurality of flight hazard levels. Here, one single flight hazard levelmay correspond to a range of the meteorological hazard indices.

In an embodiment, it is also possible to determine the flight hazardlevel by judging or determining whether the meteorological hazard indexis greater than the first preset threshold. When the meteorologicalhazard index is greater than the first preset threshold, the flighthazard level is determined as the first preset level; when themeteorological hazard index is smaller than or equal to the first presetthreshold, the flight hazard level is determined as the second presetlevel. More preset thresholds may be used when more than two hazardlevels are set.

In an embodiment, the first preset threshold may be obtained throughmassive actual statistical data of the UAV from drone providers, andstored in the UAV. In a preset time period before using the UAV, theuser may update the first preset threshold with actual flight data, suchthat the first preset threshold may distinguish the flight hazard levelscorresponding to the meteorological hazard indexes better.

In step 204, the UAV is controlled to switch to the second flight statewhen the flight hazard level is the first preset level.

In an embodiment, the first preset level may represent the level wherethe UAV cannot fly safely, and the second flight state may represent theemergency flight state or the take-off suspended state of the UAV.

In step 205, the UAV is controlled to work in the first flight statewhen the flight hazard level is the second preset level.

In an embodiment, the second preset level may represent the level wherethe UAV can fly safely.

In this embodiment, for the determination of the flight hazard level, tothe UAV may determine the flight hazard level corresponding to themeteorological hazard index by inquiring into the preset list.Alternatively or additionally, the UAV may determine the flight hazardlevel by judging or determining whether the meteorological hazard indexis greater than the first preset threshold, which realizes flexibledetermination of the flight hazard level. For the acquisition of themeteorological data in the present disclosure, the meteorological datain the current location may be obtained by locating the current locationvia GPS and accessing the network server, which realizes automaticdetermination of the meteorological data in a current location of theUAV, without human input, thus improving user experience. Moreover, themeteorological data in the current location may be obtained based on themeteorological indication message sent by the user terminal, such thatthe user may send the meteorological data to the UAV timely when theuser finds out weather changes in the current location of the UAV, tofurther avoid the physical damages to the UAV caused by dangerousweather and improve the user experience.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method for controlling an unmanned aerialvehicle according to one or more embodiments. This embodiment may employthe above method of the present disclosure, and exemplifies that the UAVswitches its steady flight state to the second flight state. As shown inFIG. 3, the method may include at least the following steps.

In step 301, the target location is determined when the UAV works in thesecond flight state.

In an embodiment, when the UAV is in the steady flight state, the UAVmay determine to return or land based on the current location and themeteorological data. For example, when an airport near the UAV has badweather or parking aprons in the nearby airport are too limited to landeven though the weather there is good, and the weather in a returndirection is good and the UAV is relatively close to an airport wherethe UAV takes off, the UAV may choose to return, and a target airportfor returning may be determined as the target location when the UAVworks in the second flight state; when the airport near the UAV has goodweather and enough parking aprons for the UAV to land, the airport nearthe UAV may be determined as the target location when the UAV works inthe second flight state.

In an embodiment, when the UAV is in the take-off preparing state, theUAV may switch to the take-off suspended state and be controlled to parkaside.

In step 302, the flight path of the UAV is determined based on thecurrent location and the target location.

In an embodiment, when the UAV stores flight paths to various airports,the UAV may obtain the flight path based on the current location and thetarget location; when the UAV does not store flight paths to variousairports, the UAV may send a request message to a remote control deviceto ask the remote control device to designate a flight path based on thecurrent location and the target location.

In step 303, the UAV is controlled to fly according to the flight path.

In this embodiment, when the UAV needs to switch to the second flightstate, the UAV may determine the flight path based on the currentlocation and the target location to realize the switch from the firstflight state to the second flight state, thus avoiding the physicaldamages to the UAV caused by dangerous weather and improving the userexperience.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a device for controlling an unmanned aerialvehicle according to an example embodiment.

The device may be applied to the UAV and include: an obtaining module410 configured to obtain meteorological data in a current location ofthe UAV when the UAV is in a first flight state, where the first flightstate may represent a steady flight state or a take-off preparing stateof the UAV; a determining module 420 configured to determine a flighthazard level of the UAV based on the meteorological data obtained by theobtaining module 410, where the flight hazard level may represent ahazard level caused to a flight of the UAV by weather; and a switchingmodule 430 configured to control the UAV to switch to a second flightstate when the determining module 420 determines the flight hazard levelas a first preset level, where the first preset level may represent alevel where the UAV cannot fly safely and the second flight state mayrepresent an emergency flight state or a take-off suspended state of theUAV.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of another device for controlling an unmannedaerial vehicle according to an example embodiment. Based on theembodiment of FIG. 4, in an embodiment, the determining module 420includes: a first computing sub-module 421 configured to compute ameteorological hazard index in the current location of the UAV based onthe meteorological data obtained by the obtaining module; and aninquiring sub-module 422 configured to inquire into a preset list todetermine the flight hazard level corresponding to the meteorologicalhazard index computed by the first computing sub-module 421, where thepreset list may record the flight hazard level and the meteorologicalhazard index corresponding to the flight hazard level.

In an embodiment, the determining module 420 includes: a secondcomputing sub-module 423 configured to compute a meteorological hazardindex in the current location of the UAV based on the meteorologicaldata; a judging sub-module 424 configured to judge whether themeteorological hazard index computed by the second computing sub-module423 is greater than a first preset threshold; a first determiningsub-module 425 configured to determine the flight hazard level as thefirst preset level when the judging sub-module 424 judges that themeteorological hazard index is greater than the first preset threshold;and a second determining sub-module 426 configured to determine theflight hazard level as a second preset level when the judging sub-module424 judges that the meteorological hazard index is smaller than or equalto the first preset threshold.

In an embodiment, the device further includes: a control module 440configured to control the UAV to work in the steady flight state or thetake-off preparing state when the determining module 420 determines theflight hazard level as the second preset level, where the second presetlevel may represent a level where the UAV can fly safely.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of still another device for controlling anunmanned aerial vehicle according to an example embodiment. Based on theembodiment of FIG. 4 and/or the embodiment of FIG. 5, in an embodiment,the obtaining module 410 includes: a locating sub-module 411 configuredto locate the current location of the UAV via a GPS; and an accessingsub-module 412 configured to access a network server to obtain themeteorological data in the current location located by the locatingsub-module 411 and within a predetermined surrounding area.

In an embodiment, the obtaining module 410 includes: a receivingsub-module 413 configured to receive a meteorological indication messagesent by a user terminal; and an analyzing sub-module 414 configured toanalyze the meteorological indication message received by the receivingsub-module to obtain the meteorological data in the current location ofthe UAV.

In an embodiment, the switching module 430 includes: a targetdetermining sub-module 431 configured to determine a target locationwhen the UAV works in the second flight state; a flight path determiningsub-module 432 configured to determine a flight path of the UAV based onthe current location and the target location determined by the targetdetermining sub-module 431; and a control sub-module 433 configured tocontrol the UAV to fly according to the flight path determined by theflight path determining sub-module 432.

With respect to the devices in the above embodiments, the specificmanners for performing operations for individual modules therein havebeen described in detail in the embodiments regarding the methods forcontrolling unmanned aerial vehicles, which will not be elaboratedherein.

The device embodiment is substantially corresponding to the methodembodiment, so relevant part of illustration of the method embodimentmay be referred to. The device embodiment described above is onlyexemplary, where the units described as separate components may be ormay not be physically separate; the component as the displaying unit maybe or not be a physical unit, i.e. may be located at a position or bedistributed at many network elements. It is possible to select part ofor all of the modules to realize the objective of the presentdisclosure, which may be understood and implemented by those skilled inthe art without paying more creative effort.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram suitable for a device for controlling anunmanned aerial vehicle according to an example embodiment. For example,the device 700 may be a UAV.

Referring to FIG. 7, the device 700 may include one or more of thefollowing components: a processing component 702, a memory 704, a powercomponent 706, a multimedia component 708, an audio component 710, aninput/output (I/O) interface 712, a sensor component 714, and acommunication component 716.

The processing component 702 typically controls overall operations ofthe device 700, such as the operations associated with display,telephone calls, data communications, camera operations, and recordingoperations. The processing component 702 may include one or moreprocessors 720 to execute instructions to perform all or part of thesteps in the above described methods. Moreover, the processing component702 may include one or more modules which facilitate the interactionbetween the processing component 702 and other components. For instance,the processing component 702 may include a multimedia module tofacilitate the interaction between the multimedia component 707 and theprocessing component 702.

The memory 704 is configured to store various types of data to supportthe operation of the device 700. Examples of such data includeinstructions for any applications or methods operated on the device 700,contact data, phonebook data, messages, pictures, video, etc. The memory704 may be implemented using any type of volatile or non-volatile memorydevices, or a combination thereof, such as a static random access memory(SRAM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM),an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), a programmableread-only memory (PROM), a read-only memory (ROM), a magnetic memory, aflash memory, a magnetic or optical disk.

The power component 706 provides power to various components of thedevice 700. The power component 706 may include a power managementsystem, one or more power sources, and any other components associatedwith the generation, management, and distribution of power in the device700.

The multimedia component 708 includes a screen providing an outputinterface between the device 700 and the user. In some embodiments, thescreen may include a liquid crystal display (LCD) and a touch panel(TP). If the screen includes the touch panel, the screen may beimplemented as a touch screen to receive input signals from the user.The touch panel includes one or more touch sensors to sense touches,swipes, and gestures on the touch panel. The touch sensors may not onlysense a boundary of a touch or swipe action, but also sense a period oftime and a pressure associated with the touch or swipe action. In someembodiments, the multimedia component 708 includes a front camera and/ora rear camera. The front camera and the rear camera may receive anexternal multimedia datum while the device 700 is in an operation mode,such as a photographing mode or a video mode. Each of the front cameraand the rear camera may be a fixed optical lens system or have focus andoptical zoom capability.

The audio component 710 is configured to output and/or input audiosignals. For example, the audio component 710 includes a microphone(“MIC”) configured to receive an external audio signal when the device700 is in an operation mode, such as a call mode, a recording mode, anda voice recognition mode. The received audio signal may be furtherstored in the memory 704 or transmitted via the communication component716. In some embodiments, the audio component 710 further includes aspeaker to output audio signals.

The I/O interface 712 provides an interface between the processingcomponent 702 and peripheral interface modules, such as a keyboard, aclick wheel, buttons, and the like. The buttons may include, but are notlimited to, a home button, a volume button, a starting button, and alocking button.

The sensor component 714 includes one or more sensors to provide statusassessments of various aspects of the device 700. For instance, thesensor component 714 may detect an open/closed status of the device 700,relative positioning of components, e.g., the display and the keypad, ofthe device 700, a change in position of the device 700 or a component ofthe device 700, a presence or absence of user contact with the device700, an orientation or an acceleration/deceleration of the device 700,and a change in temperature of the device 700. The sensor component 714may include a proximity sensor configured to detect the presence ofnearby objects without any physical contact. The sensor component 714may also include a light sensor, such as a CMOS or CCD image sensor, foruse in imaging applications. In some embodiments, the sensor component714 may also include an accelerometer sensor, a gyroscope sensor, amagnetic sensor, a pressure sensor, or a temperature sensor.

The communication component 716 is configured to facilitatecommunication, wired or wirelessly, between the device 700 and otherdevices. The device 700 can access a wireless network based on acommunication standard, such as WiFi, 2G; or 3G; or a combinationthereof. In one exemplary embodiment, the communication component 716receives a broadcast signal or broadcast associated information from anexternal broadcast management system via a broadcast channel. In oneexemplary embodiment, the communication component 716 further includes anear field communication (NFC) module to facilitate short-rangecommunications. For example, the NFC module may be implemented based ona radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, an infrared dataassociation (IrDA) technology, an ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, aBluetooth (BT) technology, and other technologies.

In exemplary embodiments, the device 700 may be implemented with one ormore circuitries, which include application specific integrated circuits(ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processingdevices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmablegate arrays (FPGAs), controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, orother electronic components. The device 700 may use the circuitries incombination with the other hardware or software components forperforming the above described methods. Each module, sub-module, unit,or sub-unit disclosed above in FIG. 4-6 may be implemented at leastpartially using the one or more circuitries.

In example embodiments, there is also provided a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium including instructions, such asincluded in the memory 704, executable by the processor 720 in thedevice 700, for performing the above-described methods. For example, thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be a ROM, a RAM, aCD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disc, an optical data storage device,and the like.

The terminology used in the present disclosure is for the purpose ofdescribing exemplary embodiments only and is not intended to limit thepresent disclosure. As used in the present disclosure and the appendedclaims, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to includethe plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It shall also be understood that the terms “or” and “and/or”used herein are intended to signify and include any or all possiblecombinations of one or more of the associated listed items, unless thecontext clearly indicates otherwise.

It shall be understood that, although the terms “first,” “second,”“third,” etc. may be used herein to describe various information, theinformation should not be limited by these terms. These terms are onlyused to distinguish one category of information from another. Forexample, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure,first information may be termed as second information; and similarly,second information may also be termed as first information. As usedherein, the term “if” may be understood to mean “when” or “upon” or “inresponse to” depending on the context.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” “exemplary embodiment,” or the like in the singular orplural means that one or more particular features, structures, orcharacteristics described in connection with an embodiment is includedin at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Thus, theappearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment,”“in an exemplary embodiment,” or the like in the singular or plural invarious places throughout this specification are not necessarily allreferring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features,structures, or characteristics in one or more embodiments may becombined in any suitable manner.

Other embodiments of the present disclosure will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practiceof the disclosure disclosed here. This application is intended to coverany variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention following thegeneral principles thereof and including such departures from thepresent disclosure as come within known or customary practice in theart. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered asexemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention beingindicated by the following claims.

It will be appreciated that the present invention is not limited to theexact construction that has been described above and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, and that various modifications and changes can bemade without departing from the scope thereof. It is intended that thescope of the invention only be limited by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of controlling an unmanned aerialvehicle (UAV), comprising: obtaining meteorological data in a currentlocation of the UAV when the UAV is in a first flight state, wherein thefirst flight state represents one of a steady flight state and atake-off preparing state of the UAV; determining a flight hazard levelof the UAV based on the meteorological data, wherein the flight hazardlevel represents a hazard level caused to a flight of the UAV byweather; and controlling the UAV to switch to a second flight state whenthe flight hazard level is a first preset level, wherein the firstpreset level represents a level where the UAV cannot fly safely and thesecond flight state represents one of an emergency flight state and atake-off suspended state of the UAV, wherein determining the flighthazard level of the UAV based on the meteorological data comprises:computing a meteorological hazard index in the current location of theUAV based on the meteorological data; determining whether themeteorological hazard index is greater than a first preset threshold;determining the flight hazard level as the first preset level when themeteorological hazard index is greater than the first preset threshold;and determining the flight hazard level as a second preset level whenthe meteorological hazard index is smaller than or equal to the firstpreset threshold, and wherein the second preset level represents a levelwhere the UAV can fly safely.
 2. The method according to claim 1,wherein determining the flight hazard level of the UAV based on themeteorological data comprises: computing the meteorological hazard indexin the current location of the UAV based on the meteorological data; anddetermining the flight hazard level corresponding to the meteorologicalhazard index by inquiring into a preset list, wherein the preset listrecords the flight hazard level and the meteorological hazard indexcorresponding to the flight hazard level.
 3. The method according toclaim 1, further comprising: controlling the UAV to work in the steadyflight state or the take-off preparing state when the flight hazardlevel is determined as a second preset level.
 4. The method according toclaim 1, wherein obtaining meteorological data in the current locationof the UAV comprises: locating the current location of the UAV via aGPS; and accessing a network server to obtain the meteorological data inthe current location and within a predetermined surrounding area.
 5. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein obtaining meteorological data inthe current location of the UAV comprises: receiving a meteorologicalindication message sent by a user terminal; and analyzing themeteorological indication message to obtain the meteorological data inthe current location of the UAV.
 6. The method according to claim 1,wherein controlling the UAV to switch to the second flight statecomprises: determining a target location when the UAV works in thesecond flight state; determining a flight path of the UAV based on thecurrent location and the target location; and controlling the UAV to flyaccording to the flight path.
 7. A device of controlling an unmannedaerial vehicle (UAV), comprising: a processor; a memory configured tostore an instruction executable by the processor; wherein the processoris configured to: obtain meteorological data in a current location ofthe UAV when the UAV is in a first flight state, wherein the firstflight state represents a steady flight state or a take-off preparingstate of the UAV; determine a flight hazard level of the UAV based onthe meteorological data, wherein the flight hazard level represents ahazard level caused to a flight of the UAV by weather; and control theUAV to switch to a second flight state when the flight hazard level is afirst preset level, wherein the first preset level represents a levelwhere the UAV cannot fly safely and the second flight state representsan emergency flight state or a take-off suspended state of the UAV,wherein the processor is configured to determine the flight hazard levelof the UAV based on the meteorological data, by acts of: computing ameteorological hazard index in the current location of the UAV based onthe meteorological data; determining whether the meteorological hazardindex is greater than a first preset threshold; determining the flighthazard level as the first preset level when the meteorological hazardindex is greater than the first preset threshold; and determining theflight hazard level as a second preset level when the meteorologicalhazard index is smaller than or equal to the first preset threshold, andwherein the second preset level represents a level where the UAV can flysafely.
 8. The device according to claim 7, wherein the processor isconfigured to determine the flight hazard level of the UAV based on themeteorological data, by acts of: computing the meteorological hazardindex in the current location of the UAV based on the meteorologicaldata; and determining the flight hazard level corresponding to themeteorological hazard index by inquiring into a preset list, wherein thepreset list records the flight hazard level and the meteorologicalhazard index corresponding to the flight hazard level.
 9. The deviceaccording to claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured to:control the UAV to work in the steady flight state or the take-offpreparing state when the flight hazard level is determined as a secondpreset level.
 10. The device according to claim 7, wherein the processoris configured to obtain meteorological data in the current location ofthe UAV, by acts of: locating the current location of the UAV via a GPS;and accessing a network server to obtain the meteorological data in thecurrent location and within a predetermined surrounding area.
 11. Thedevice according to claim 7, wherein the processor is configured toobtain meteorological data in the current location of the UAV, by actsof: receiving a meteorological indication message sent by a userterminal; and analyzing the meteorological indication message to obtainthe meteorological data in the current location of the UAV.
 12. Thedevice according to claim 7, wherein the processor is configured tocontrol the UAV to switch to the second flight state, by acts of:determining a target location when the UAV works in the second flightstate; determining a flight path of the UAV based on the currentlocation and the target location; and controlling the UAV to flyaccording to the flight path.
 13. A non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium having stored therein instructions that, when executed bya processor of a terminal, causes the terminal to perform a method forcontrolling an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the method comprising:obtaining meteorological data in a current location of the UAV when theUAV is in a first flight state, wherein the first flight staterepresents a steady flight state or a take-off preparing state of theUAV; determining a flight hazard level of the UAV based on themeteorological data, wherein the flight hazard level represents a hazardlevel caused to a flight of the UAV by weather; and controlling the UAVto switch to a second flight state when the flight hazard level is afirst preset level, wherein the first preset level represents a levelwhere the UAV cannot fly safely and the second flight state representsan emergency flight state or a take-off suspended state of the UAV,wherein determining the flight hazard level of the UAV based on themeteorological data comprises: computing a meteorological hazard indexin the current location of the UAV based on the meteorological data;determining whether the meteorological hazard index is greater than afirst preset threshold; determining the flight hazard level as the firstpreset level when the meteorological hazard index is greater than thefirst preset threshold; and determining the flight hazard level as asecond preset level when the meteorological hazard index is smaller thanor equal to the first preset threshold, and wherein the second presetlevel represents a level where the UAV can fly safely.
 14. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 13,wherein determining the flight hazard level of the UAV based on themeteorological data comprises: computing a meteorological hazard indexin the current location of the UAV based on the meteorological data; anddetermining the flight hazard level corresponding to the meteorologicalhazard index by inquiring into a preset list, wherein the preset listrecords the flight hazard level and the meteorological hazard indexcorresponding to the flight hazard level.
 15. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium according to claim 13, wherein themethod further comprises: controlling the UAV to work in the steadyflight state or the take-off preparing state when the flight hazardlevel is determined as a second preset level.
 16. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium according to claim 13, whereinobtaining meteorological data in the current location of the UAVcomprises: locating the current location of the UAV via a GPS; andaccessing a network server to obtain the meteorological data in thecurrent location and within a predetermined surrounding area.
 17. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 13,wherein obtaining meteorological data in the current location of the UAVcomprises: receiving a meteorological indication message sent by a userterminal; and analyzing the meteorological indication message to obtainthe meteorological data in the current location of the UAV.